ABORTION . . . HIGH COURT SAVES "FACE"

In a setback for anti-abortion activists, the Supreme Court refused to hear the first of several challenges to the year-oldFreedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.The law makes it a federal crime to block access to abortion clinics or intimidate either clients or clinic staff members. Without comment, the Justices let stand a federal appeals court ruling against Joyce Woodall, an anti-abortion demonstrator who was arrested after kneeling against a Falls Church, Va., clinic door and praying. Woodall's appeal said the law was unconstitutional in limiting anti-abortion speech or expression, but Justice Department lawyers said it "regulates conduct, not speech."